In many applications, work gloves are exposed to an inordinate amount of wear in the area between the thumb and index finger. As a result, this area is often the primary wear point of the glove so that wear through at this point becomes the failure mechanism of the glove. This is particularly true in the case of knit gloves. A method which has been used with some degree of success to extend the life of work gloves is to sew the front and back plies of the glove together along the crotch between the thumb and the fourth finger and/or upper palm. In this way, additional fabric is provided in the wear zone.
The method of sewing as described above suffers from several significant drawbacks. The added step of sewing adds significant time to the manufacturing process and requires additional sewing equipment. The placement of the sewn seam is typically done manually so that the placement of the seam is inconsistent. Often, this gives the appearance of inferior quality. Moreover, a margin of error is needed for the sewing operation to ensure that all of the stitches enter both plies of the fabric. As a result, the seam is generally located farther inwardly from the edge of the fabric than is necessary, resulting in an inefficient use of the overlap of the plies and unneeded and cumbersome bulk.
Thus, there exists a need for a work glove having reinforcement in the crotch area between the thumb and index finger, which may be efficiently and cost effectively manufactured. Such a glove should preferably have the reinforced sections appear well integrated with the remainder of the glove and not be unnecessarily bulky. Further, there exists a need for a method of making such a glove which provides for consistent results and which does not substantially increase the time or equipment required to form the glove. Moreover, there exists a need for an apparatus for forming such a glove which accomplishes the above advantages. Preferably, the apparatus would allow the retrofit of existing, conventional glove machines to produce gloves having the above-noted features and advantages.